Unknown Cave

Hu Manni's sob seemed to infect the others, and one by one, they began to fight with the cold weapons in their hands—

Water ghosts were almost invincible in the water; once dragged down, it was certain death.

But once these things came ashore...

They were really just a bit disgusting to look at, at most.

Lyu Dongfang held a sharpened machete in his hand, swinging it with fierce wind, while Liu Guansheng held a golden melon mace in each hand, smashing them against the water ghosts' heads like cracking open watermelons:

“Clang!!”

“Thwack!”

“Crack!”

The others refused to be outdone, holding back their disgust and fear to go on a killing spree. For a moment, the only sound left on the riverbank was the teeth-gritting dull thud of cold weapons clashing against human bones.

“Er-wah...”

“Stranded on the beach and meeting vicious dogs... the weak are preyed upon and eaten by dogs. Had I known I would lose my life to vicious dogs! I would never have traveled so far to worship the Buddha, wa-wa...”

The Qin Opera in the background was still high-pitched, but it had switched to the lyrics of Qin Xianglian from 《The Case of Chen Shimei》. Against the cold night wind, the stench of rotting corpses in the air grew stronger.

Before long, the ground along the riverbank was piled high with the corpses of water ghosts. Logistics personnel in hazmat suits immediately stepped forward to destroy the bodies by high-temperature incineration.

The number of corpses in the middle of the river was still increasing, but these water ghosts seemed to have some intelligence; they only dared to float in the distance, their black hair drifting up and down with the current like clumps of seaweed.

This was great.

After tonight, the number of weirds coming ashore to harass local residents would decrease.

Qin Yue stood in front of the defensive line, letting out a faint sigh of relief. As her gaze habitually drifted toward the willow tree on the bank, she failed to see that familiar green figure.

Where did Ma Guniang go?!

...

There was indeed something strange at the bottom of this stretch of the Yellow River.

Thirty kilometers away, at the bottom of the Yellow River.

Nan Zhi was submerged in the center of the river, frowning as she stared at a dark hole in the ground that was practically spewing corpses outward.

The Azure Sea Sky Garment set kept the river water out, so to an outsider, she looked as if she were wrapped in a layer of transparent film.

Nan Zhi had already noticed it during the day.

There were faint traces of ghostly energy left behind by demon corpses on this stretch of the riverbank, showing that from the shore to the center of the river, those traces disappeared.

Whatever exists must leave a trace.

With so many demon beasts, where did they get their food source?

If they were devouring the fish and shrimp in the river, this area did not show the same barren state as Mulian Lake, where no fish or shrimp could live. Furthermore, the water flowed year-round, so there was no such thing as stagnant water here.

Unless these demon beasts were attracted here from somewhere else.

This, along with the demonized fish and beasts that mysteriously appeared in the river as if going to their deaths in droves, only confirmed Nan Zhi's suspicion.

She tracked the direction of the water ghost corpse current and, sure enough, spotted a strange hole in the mud at the deepest part of the riverbed.

It was a massive circular hole in the ground, over five meters in diameter, leading to parts unknown. The pitch-black opening looked like the gaping maw of a giant beast, waiting for prey to take the bait.

One water ghost after another eagerly squeezed into the hole, dragging currents of water with them.

“Whoosh, whoosh... glub, glub...”

“Glub, glub, glub—”

A stream of bubbles surged from the hole, as if something on the other side was emitting low, muffled growls. A faint, elusive fragrance drifted out with the current.

It was hard to describe the scent. It was subtle, resembling a woman's scented powder, yet also like the smell of fermented meat—absolutely captivating.

“This scent... why does it feel like I've smelled it somewhere before?”

Nan Zhi twitched her nose and unconsciously swallowed hard:

“I really have a strange affinity with water. First, it was Xixiang's Mulian Lake, and now it's the Yellow River...”

Water ghosts were piled up around the edges of the hole, surging forward like slippery fish. She could even see countless tiny water snakes squeezing inside like mad.

Ordinarily, those demonized fish and beasts would each have their own fixed territory, much like how wild beasts used urine to mark their domain, and would not easily leave.

Perhaps it was this very fragrance that had drawn them from other reaches of the Yellow River.

What lay inside the hole?

Where did it lead?

Was there an end to it? Was the other side an opportunity, or a hazard?

Nan Zhi did not know.

She stood in the water, pondering for only three or four breaths before floating back to the surface. Using the Water Shield Art, she trapped several large pockets of air, bound them to her wrists with bands of water, and then plunged resolutely down into the hole.

...

“Are you sure you saw Senior Ma go into the water?”

Qin Yue frowned and slowed her pace, asking once more, “Are you certain you saw Senior Ma go into the Yellow River with your own eyes?”

“Of course I'm sure. My grandpa used to drag me to the banks of the Yellow River when I was a kid to train my eyes by staring at cormorants. Even if you threw a sheet of A4 paper onto the Yellow River, I could spot it from seven or eight hundred meters away.”

Liu Guansheng wiped the sweat from his face and confirmed:

“She absolutely went in. But her movements were too fast—just a flash. I was actually about to call out just now—”

Wasn't he just afraid of being thrown back down to be used as fish bait again?

At the thought, Liu Guansheng felt inexplicably guilty and looked toward the mountain of monster carcasses piled on the bank.

“Senior Ma must have noticed something wrong and left because of it.”

Qin Yue immediately gestured, ordering her men to search upstream and downstream along this stretch of the Yellow River and report back immediately if they found any anomalies:

“Arrange for round-the-clock patrols and surveys upstream and downstream. Once you find any trace of Senior Ma, be ready to assist at any time.”

The Special Investigation Bureau members in black uniforms took their orders and left. Standing some distance away, Lyu Dongfang and Hu Manni craned their necks, looking as if they had something to say.

Qin Yue felt a bit irritable, but she still waved them through. The cousins followed one after the other, and before she could speak, Hu Manni offered words of comfort:

“Don't worry. If it's... if it's that person... she will definitely be fine.”

Qin Yue snapped her head up, her scrutinizing gaze landing on Hu Manni. When she recalled Hu Manni's background, she immediately understood.

Part of the intelligence the authorities had obtained regarding Ma Guniang came from the Hu family. With Hu Manni's background, it was not surprising that she knew of Ma Guniang's existence.

—Although the Hu family had covered it up in various ways and even used Hu Ban'er's 'severe injury' as a smoke screen, the fact that they had left the most outstanding fox immortal of this generation in Xixiang was no secret to the authorities.

“I hope so.”

Qin Yue looked out at the Yellow River, feeling somewhat melancholy.

Did Ma Guniang leave without saying goodbye because she felt Qin Yue was not yet qualified to become a true demon suppressor?

Her leather boots crunched sharply against the pebbles. The short-haired woman's eyes burned with determination, her voice resolute:

“The exam is over. All candidates, please prepare for the third round of the trial.”

If the mountain will not come to me, I will go to the mountain.

She would surely reach that height, stand by her side, and fight shoulder to shoulder with her.

...

Nan Zhi knew nothing of the outside world.

Naturally, she had no idea that her silent departure had only strengthened Qin Yue's resolve to cultivate and seek the Dao.

She continued to explore forward along the underground cave.

The cave was truly unfathomable. The further she explored, the wider it became and the deeper the water grew. Clearly, the entire cave was sloping steadily downward.